Golden Mountains of Altai World Heritage Site, Russia

Golden Mountains of Altai is the name of an UNESCO World Heritage Site consisting of the Altai and Katun Natural Reserves, Lake Teletskoye, Belukha Mountain, and the Ukok Plateau.

The site covers a vast area of 16,175 km². This orthorectified image shows part of the site near the Kazakhstan border (part of the lower left quadrant is in the territory of Kazakhstan, while the rest of the land visible belongs to Russia).

As stated in the UNESCO description of the site, “the region represents the most complete sequence of altitudinal vegetation zones in central Siberia, from steppe, forest-steppe, mixed forest, subalpine vegetation to alpine vegetation”.

While making its decision, UNESCO also cited Russian Altai’s importance for preservation of the globally endangered mammals, such as snow leopard and the Altai argali.